Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Politics And Me, Once Upon A Time, Part Three

Please read part one and two if you haven't already, thanks!

One note before I continue. Before the election there were meetings with various power groups who wanted to back a candidate who would vote the way they thought would be best for them. Business concerns wanted it to be known they would want influence within the city one way or another.

I did not get their backing.

There was an interview with the local major newspaper. I barely got a mention, no picture.

So here was the end result. There was a three way race for mayor.

I came in third. The winning candidate got over 5,000 votes, I got 1,000. But money-wise, every vote was gotten at no cost dollar wise.

A funny thing happened after that. I came into the next city meeting. People made room for me to sit down. A kid came up and asked for my autograph. There was a bit of a buzz when i walked into the room. All the council members acknowledged me.

There was an attempt afterwards to start a grassroots movement to force some changes. I was asked to attend those meetings and to act in a leadership position.

I was a member of the local city chapter of the Coral Springs Democratic Club. They voted me in as the president.

One of the jobs was to bring in guest speakers and now I was in contact with the movers and shakers in the cities and county in politics.

After one of our club meetings, I was approached by a gentleman who informed me that I was being considered for bigger things down the road. I was floored.

At a state function, I met the governor of Florida. I met the local state representative and senator. When Clinton came into town, I was invited to hear him speak.

But all things must come to an end.

All this was a constant strain on my family. We worked different shifts. We had three very small children. Getting a sitter was a problem. My work days were very long and I was always tired. I didn't have the money or status of many people trying to succeed in politics. I ran out of gas. I resigned all positions. I felt I had let down many people.

But I tried. I put myself in a position out of my comfort zone. I tried to improve myself. I think I did ok, I left a small footprint. But a foot print never the less.